Pacific Rim harks back to classic robots versus monsters blockbusters.

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2018)

Boom! This is what we all wanted. Colossal mechs punching the blue blood out of enormous beasts. Del Toro presented the sprawling action how he knows best, visual splendour and cinematic showmanship. Now, this is no means perfect in fact I would only say it's good, but I would be lying if I said I don't enjoy it. In the near future, Earth is rapidly becoming ravaged by Kaijus who are spawning from a mysterious teleporter in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Humans retaliate by building and piloting gargantuan mechanised weapons known as Jaegers. And so we watch the enthralling action gripped to our seats as we shout "Yeahhhh, punch it, slice it, rip its head off!!". Del Toro has always been a visual director, and Pacific Rim is another great addition to his filmography. The neon lighting backdrop of Hong Kong where the ensuing battle rages on in the consistent downpour within the city's bay. The glowing venomous blue eyes of the Kaijus as they catastrophically cause chaos through animalistic means. Numerous characters sacrificing themselves and destructively being ripped apart as they attempt to save their world. The stakes are high, and so is the production value. Full marks for visuals, direction and sound editing. Charlie Hunnam may have the physicality as he boisterously waltzes around the Shatterdome as if he owns it, but his acting is as monotonous as a broken metronome. Rinko Kikuchi is just a total babe, and certainly underrated in everything she's in. Idris Elba gives the best speech since 'Independence Day' as he motivates his pilots in "cancelling the apocalypse". Everyone else? Functional. Charlie Day plays one of two irritating scientists and consistently annoys the heck out of me with his high pitch squealing. The story is fairly basic with limited surprises, but I'm sure you expected this. The first half is unquestionably slower than the second. However, you wanted titanic combat sequences, and you certainly got them! Monstrous popcorn entertainment, just lacks that extra punch.